Eight Months Later
by HighClassSwank
Summary: Andy finds herself becoming friends with Miranda once again. Or is it more than friends? I suck at the summary. Will perhaps fix later
1. Chapter 1

_Please review if you read! They help me a lot and I love to hear your thoughts good and bad! Thank you!_

I do not own any of these characters from TDWP.

Please enjoy!

*Review!*

* * *

_"Hi, my name is Andy Sachs."_

_"What are you doing _here_?"_

_"By all means, move at a glacial pace; you know how that_ thrills _me."_

_"Details of you incompetence do not interest me."_

_"This..._stuff_?"_

_"Don't be ridiculous, Andrea, everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us."_

* * *

Andy Sachs woke up from her nightmare at exactly 12:05am. Looking out her window, she could tell that it had been pouring just seconds before her eyes opened, because fresh water droplets fell from the metal bars surrounding her balcony, and landed on the streets far below. It had been eight months since Paris, meaning that it had been eight months working at the _New York Times, _which meant no Miranda.

However, tonight, the silvery-white haired woman had decided to ruin the sleep of her ex-employee by barging in her usually good dreams. Andy often dreamt of singing in an endless meadow, or winning an Emmy Award for being best actress in a movie. But today, her dream had started out as a nice Starbucks date with a handsome gentleman. His hair was brown, his eyes were blue. It was perfect...that is until Miranda came barging into Starbucks pointing a finger in Andy's direction screaming about how late her coffee was. Andy had stood up to explain that she no longer worked for Miranda, but it had turned out that she had been talking to the gentleman Andy was having coffee with. He was Miranda's new second assistant. What a small world.

Her dream then went to a thousand heads of Miranda spitting out insults and rude lectures. Then she had woken up.

To be honest, if Andy could go back eight months in time, she wouldn't have walked away from Miranda like that. Andy could clearly see Miranda now, after lots and lots of time thinking about it. When Miranda had told Andy "I see a great deal of myself in you.", she hadn't meant that Andy was like her. She meant that she was like Andy. Miranda had always closed that part off.

It was during all this time, Andy figured out Miranda. She knew that Miranda knew people viewed her as a cut-throat bitch, why wouldn't that bother Miranda? She never showed it, but it was that day walking into the hotel room and seeing her boss like that and most importantly; the day she took the James Holt job she had firstly _given _to Nigel, and took that away from him by giving it to Jacqueline. All so she could protect her job at _Runway_. It was then that Andy could actually see that Miranda fully comprehends that what she has done to Nigel. That moment when all the attention turned from Miranda to Jacqueline, that immediate moment; her fake smiled faded. Miranda knew exactly what people thought of her.

All this thinking of Miranda at 12 in the morning made Andy realize that she did miss her old boss. She wanted to see Miranda, sit down and have lunch with Miranda. But obviously, Miranda hated her and that was enough to keep Andy away.

During her time at _Runway_, Andy had developed feelings for Miranda. She wouldn't call them _feelings_ but there had definitely been a change. It was probably because Andy had discovered the truth about Miranda, and that made her care for her more. Andy would do anything for Miranda, because truth is, Andy had been her only friend.

* * *

Two days later, on a Wednesday afternoon, Andy found herself walking towards Miranda's townhouse. She had been given a day off from the paper and decided to pay a visit to the place she'd enter oh-so late at night to give Miranda the book and put away the dry cleaning. Of course, Miranda wouldn't be at home at 1pm on a Wednesday, she'd be at _Runway_ or out having lunch with some famous designer.

Andy rounded the corner and saw the townhouse, sitting tall on the right side of the street. She approached the steps and took a deep breath. This would be the first time walking up these steps without the _Runway_ book or dry cleaning in hand. She reached the top of the stairs, touched the door handle and sat down on the top stair and looked out at the street.

Today was a sunny, warm day and New York traffic was busy as always, But by Miranda's townhouse, it was quiet. Th roads here were never busy, mostly because it was a private road, but all the same; it was nice.

About ten minutes had passed and that's when a silver car with tinted windows pulled up in front of the house. Andy stared at the car, her heart thumping against her rib cage. This was about to be the most awkward situation of her life.

Miranda Priestly stepped out of the car, her usual brown sunglasses over her eyes. Andy knew she was staring at her through those shades. The woman walked forward, reached the bottom of the step and just stared up at Andy.

"Um, hi Miranda," Andy began "I'm sorry for blocking your stairs, they really are nice stairs- um-" Andy stopped her babbling immediately, for she knew Miranda was losing her patience. "I really missed coming here and wanted to pay a visit."

Miranda came to the top of the stairs and opened the front door.

"Are you going to come in or continue sitting on my stairs like a bum?" Miranda asked Andy and motioned her inside.

"I- oh- okay." Andy stood up, wiped her feet and entered the townhouse. Miranda had removed her sunglasses and was staring at Andy. The woman's face showed her emotion, no thrill nor dislike that Andy was in her house; but her eyes glistened with happiness.

"What brings you here?" Miranda asked, leading them to her kitchen. Andy took a seat at one of the bar stools as Miranda grabbed two cups from the cupboard and filled them with ice water.

"I had a day off today." Andy began "And decided to come visit the townhouse because I missed it a lot. It's just so beautiful."

"So you miss my house but not me." Miranda said. "Fabulous."

"No, I've missed you too I guess." Andy said, wanting to slap her forehead. This was very awkward carrying a conversation with Miranda. "I thought about you a couple days ago actually."

Miranda, who stood on the other side of the counter, had begun reading the paper and sipping on her water.

"Um, my job at the _New York Times_ is going well. I've been writing about-"

"I know." Miranda said, keeping her eyes on the paper. "I read your stuff."

"Oh." Andy blushed, then smirked. "My _stuff_?"

Miranda's eyes peeled from the paper and looked at Andy through her glasses, a hint of laughter showing through her blue eyes.

"Ahn-dre-ah, it really is a pleasure to see you. But I honestly only came home to pick up something before heading back to _Runway_. Roy is outside waiting."

"Oh, yes, of course. I'll um-"

"But I would like to see you again soon. How about lunch on Friday?"

Andy gave her ex-boss a weak smile "My schedule isn't flexible like yours, Miranda. I work."

Miranda gave a humming sound of disapproval. "Dinner?"

"I usually eat canned soup..." Andy smiled.

Miranda stared at her blankly, before realizing the humor. "Dinner on Friday it is then."

The two women walked out together and Miranda got in her silver car once again. Andy waved, unsure if Miranda waved her even smiled, but why did it matter? Today had been far better than she had expected it to and Miranda hadn't been a total bitch. Though she didn't admit it, Andy knew that Miranda had missed her far too much for her own good.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for all of the reviews! I would've updated sooner, but found myself having lots to do this summer! Please enjoy this chapter.

Review please, it helps me a lot (:  
Also, feel free to send me ideas by message if you'd like (:

* * *

"Hey Andy, it's Luke."

Andy had expected a phone call this evening, but not from Lucas. She had been busy opening white and black garbage bags that were full of her old clothes she once wore at _Runway_. Most of the outfits she had given away to Emily, but most of those clothes were from Paris. Andy had kept most of her old ones, well, the ones she like anyway.

She had been sorting through these clothes for the past hour and a half, trying to find something suitable to wear to dinner tonight with Miranda. She didn't want Miranda to think she was a scrub, nor did she want to over dress for this friendly occasion. But honestly, this was_ The Keg _we're talking about here; one of the most respected restaurants in New York City. But that didn't mean she needed to wear a ball gown...did it? Ugh. This was just too complicated, so she was glad to get a call as an excuse to get away from the clothes that took over her one bedroom apartment. Clothes were draped over the couch, the bed, the chairs and the T.V. It seemed as if they all might form an army and attack Andy at any moment.

"Oh, hey Luke!" Andy said into the phone, trying not to sound disappointed that it was Lucas on the other line. "Whats up?"

"Well, I thought we were going to dinner tonight?"

Andy's heart stopped for a second. No. Surely she hadn't planned her date with Luke on the same night as her dinner with Miranda.

"I-"

"I guess you forgot, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here alone at the Cafe." he forced a weak laugh.

"Oh my gosh, Luke, I'm sooooo sorry! I totally forgot! I just- the newspaper, and writing and I've been under a lot of stress and-"

"It's honestly not a big deal." he said "We can, uh, reschedule for some other time?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'll call you next week or something."

"K, sounds good."

"Yeah, bye." Luke said softly and hung up.

Andy threw her phone on the bed and watched as the black sleeve of a dress swallowed it up. She felt so bad for standing Luke up, she really did forget about it. She and Luke had met was one of the paper parties. He worked at a book publishing company for some strict woman name Margaret and was close friends for the editor at the paper Andy worked at. They became very close at the party and ended up hanging out the whole night, resulting in great sex after the party. The two weren't official, they just had dinner once a week for the past month and sex on their days off- if any. It was sort of a friend's with benefits thing.

Deciding to wear the black dress her phone had chosen for her, Andy continued getting ready and hit the streets about thirty minutes later. Truth is; she had an hour before it was time to meet Miranda at _The Keg, _but Miranda was always early.

Andy taxied her way to the restaurant and told the waiter her table was for her and Miranda Priestly. He lead her to a nice table in the back by the large window and walked away. Miranda wasn't here yet, so Andy took this as an opportunity to touch up her makeup. She sipped on the ice water sitting in front of her and looked around at the crowd. She recognized some people from_ Runway_, but had never known them enough to go up and say hello. So she just put her focus back on her ice water.

When it was fifteen minutes past the time Miranda and her were suppose to meet, Andy found her eyes glued on nothing but the entrance to _The Keg_. Miranda should be walking in at any minute.

But when forty-five minutes had passed, Andy figured Miranda had forgotten. She stood up and thanked the waiter for her many water refills and tipped him anyway. She left the restaurant and decided to walk home, hoping she'd see the silver Priestly car driving through the streets of New York. Andy checked her watch. Perhaps Miranda had just got caught up at the office.

Deciding that was probably it, she walked home and fell asleep in her clothes, not really caring about the possibility of ripping or wrinkling them.

* * *

"Hello?" Andy asked into her phone. She hadn't even checked th caller ID or the time, but her body told her it was around 11:30pm

"Ahn-dre-ah?"

Andy was suddenly awake "Yes, hi Miranda! Hi!"

"Were you sleeping?"

"Nah." she lied.

"Good." Miranda's tone was harsh. "I just got home and the book isn't even here yet. Can you believe it?"

"Uh...no, I sure can't. That second assistant of yours must be-"

"Lazy, stupid and slow," Miranda interrupted.

"Actually, I was going to say-." Andy started but was interrupted once again.

"She isn't as good as you, Ahn-dre-ah."

There was about a thirty second silence before Miranda spoke again.

"I meant to have Emily call you to tell you I was canceling our dinner plans, but I got too caught up at work and simply forgot."

Yep, there was the bitch Andy had been waiting to come out.

"Dinner? Oh! Right! Good thing I forgot to show up, otherwise I would've been sitting there alone for an hour drinking nothing but ice water, waiting for you! Oh my, that would've been embarrassing."

"Did you really wait for an hour?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah."

"That's a shame."

_Bitch. _Andy couldn't help but to smile at her own thought. Miranda was probably sitting on her comfy ass three thousand dollar couch drinking some fine ass wine while in her soft ass bath robe as her twins slept soundly upstairs.

"Well it was a pleasure speaking to you, Miranda. But I'm afraid I have to go."

"Wait one minute Ahn-dre-ah. I want to reschedule."

"You expect me to want to reschedule dinner with you when you didn't even apologize for not showing up to the first one? I'm glad you think I'm easy."

"If you were easy, I'd have you back and working at _Runway_ as my assistant again." Miranda said and Andy could hear her yawn.

"Fine. Reschedule it. And actually _be_ there. No cardboard cutout sitting at the table."

"If you find a cardboard cutout of me, call me immediately. I'll make sure to have it burned or something."

"If I found one, I'd have them make a hundred more copies and sell them for a lower price, perhaps add devil horns to them or a mustache."

"Hold your tongue, Ahn-dre-ah!" Miranda snapped. "Good-bye." and with that, the woman hung up, leaving Andy with a huge smile on her face. Success. She no longer felt intimidated by Miranda, in fact, she felt like a friend, and a friend meant picking on the other.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry, I haven't updated in a while! I was on a camping trip. So I typed this chapter quickly, hope it's okay. Not the best, but please, still enjoy (:

* * *

Andy wasn't sure how they got there, or how it started; but Miranda and her were laying on Miranda's king size bed drunk and both crying about their exes.

"Stephen was so good in bed." Miranda sobbed.

"Nate was too." Andy cried "He'd make me grilled cheese every night at 12 when I got home from work."

"Ahn-dre-ah, that stuff goes straight to your ass."

"I know." Andy cried even harder "But they were so good."

The two of them stayed like that for a couple more hours until while their tears dried and their bodies sobered up. Miranda pushed her body off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Andy heard a flush and then watched as Miranda came back out in a bathrobe and combed hair.

Miranda flashed a lopsided smile at Andy before saying "Ahn-dre-ah, I need to get some work done tonight."

Realizing what Miranda was saying, Andy stood up off the bed and bent down to pick up her purse which she had thrown earlier.

"I'll see you soon then?" Andy asked.

"You can certainly stay here," Miranda proposed "The twins are staying with their father this month since school is out for summer. It gets awful lonely here."

"All my work stuff is on my desk at home, sorry Miran-"

"Can't you pick it up in the morning?"

"I-, well, yes, I suppose I can."

"Good." Miranda said sharply. "I'm going downstairs."

Andy followed Miranda out the door and halfway down the first flight of stairs before the white-haired woman turned around.

"Really Ahn-dre-ah, are you a puppy?" Miranda's ice blue eyes stared deep into Andy's brown "Go shower or something. You smell like a drunk."

Andy blinked and watched as Miranda continued down the stairs "The towels are in the cupboard on the wall opposite of my closest."

* * *

Andy did as she was told and after her shower was complete, she wrapped herself in one of many of Miranda's bathrobes and headed downstairs, jumping belly first onto the living room sofa. Miranda was seated in a chair across from the couch, sipping on some ice water and looking over the _Runway_ book.

Andy giggled and kicked her feet as she turned over to lay on her back, using her left hand to adjust a couch pillow to suit the need of her head.

Miranda peered over her glasses at Andy and sighed. "Really Ahn-dre-ah, are you five?"

"Sometimes I like to think so." She smiled and laughed again.

Miranda pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and flipped the page over.

"Sooooo." Andy let the word trail on and on.

Miranda ignored her, so Andy purposely sighed loudly. Miranda threw her glasses on the table beside her and looked at Andy.

"Really?"

"Really."

"No, Ahn-dre-ah, really."

"Oh, I'm sorry Miranda I just-"

"You just what? Hmmm?" the woman had put her glasses back on and began staring at the pages in the book again.

"What happened upstairs, I don't really understand. Are we-?" Andy moved her hands in a circular motion as she waited for a response from Miranda.

"Are we what? Friends? Yes." Miranda stopped and squinted her eyes at a picture in the book. Andy couldn't help but to smile. Finally, the words themselves, came from Miranda Priestly's mouth. "What do you think of these jackets?" She handed the book over for Andy to look at.

"I'm not a super fashionista, but I love the jackets."

"You do?" Miranda asked as Andy handed the book back. "I hate them." She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number quickly, not totally caring that it was 12am. "Emily? I need you to call James Holt and tell him no, I do not want these fall jackets in my next issue. Tell him I want something new, something stylish. These jackets look too original. That's all." And she hung up. "I'm done."

Andy smiled. "Bed time?"

"I suppose. The guest bedroom is…." Miranda trailed off "Ahn-dre-ah, don't think I'm silly but….would you mind sharing my bed with me? I've been alone in this house for the past two weeks and don't think I can handle another night alone."

"Oh no, that's perfectly fine. My one bedroom apartment and me don't exactly have a super close bond anyway, I don't think I'll miss it."

The two headed upstairs, Miranda threw an extra pair of pajamas on the bed for Andy. Once the two had washed their faces, brushed their teeth and moisturized, they climbed into bed. Andy closed her eyes and heard a loud sigh from Miranda.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Ahn-dre-ah, things are never okay when everyone views you as a cold hearted, poisonous bitch."

"I don't think you're a-"

"It doesn't matter what you think, does it? Your opinion means nothing to billions of people in the world. You're just one person."

Andy began to gently rub Miranda's back as the older woman sobbed quietly. Miranda's voice was still strong, but Andy knew there were tears streaming on the other side of the bed.

"To the world I may be just one person, but to one person I can be the world. Miranda, I'm your friend. I'm your world. You can open up to me and trust me."

Miranda never said another word. Not a "thank you" or a "I think the same about you." It was just quiet, but Andy continued to rub Miranda's back until she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
